The present invention relates to ammunition for shot-guns, and more particularly to a sabot for a shot-gun shell capable of enhancing shot dispersion.
Conventional shot-gun shells are designed to control shot patterns at ranges of engagement typical of sporting applications. Such engagements vary from a short range of approximately 20 meters, typical of upland game shooting, to extreme ranges of 40-50 meters, typical of water fowling.
Law enforcement agencies have endeavored to exploit the advantages of large shot patterns available from such weapons to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement personnel engaged in close range antipersonnel actions. Current technology, however, has not produced a shot shell and weapon capable of providing a high dispersion of shot at the short ranges typical of building clearing operations, for example. Shooting engagement ranges for such operations are usually on the order of 5 to 15 meters, where shot dispersion pattern diameters range from approximately 5 to 20 centimeters. These small diameter patterns do not materially enhance the probability of hitting the personnel target. In fact single projectile, burst fire and semi-automatic weapons are becoming more popular due primarily to the large dispersion pattern of shots.